20110188 Ver 1_Approval Letter_20110228

NCDENR
North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources
Beverly Eaves Perdue
Governor
Division of Water Quality
Coleen H. Sullins
Director
Dee Freeman
Secretary
Mr. Peter Flynn
Kings Mountain Minerals, Inc.
102 Concept Dr.
Kings Mountain, NC 28086
Subject: H1 Mine, Kings Mountain Minerals
APPROVAL of 401 Water Quality Certification with Additional Conditions
Dear Mr. Flynn:
February 28, 2011
DWQ# 11-0188
Cleveland County
You have our approval, in accordance with the general certification and those conditions listed
below, to impact 280 linear feet (If) of unnamed stream to Long Branch in order to conduct the
proposed mining activity in Cleveland County, as described in your application received by the
Division of Water Quality (DWQ) on February 24, 2100. After reviewing your application, we have
determined that this project is covered by Water Quality General Certification Number 3821, which
can be viewed on our web site at http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/wq/swp/ws/401. The General
Certification allows you to use Nationwide Permit Number 18 once it is issued to you by the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers. Please note that you should get any other federal, state or local permits
before proceeding with your project, including those required by (but not limited to) Sediment and
Erosion Control, Non-Discharge, and Water Supply Watershed regulations.
The above noted Certification will expire when the associated 404 permit expires unless
otherwise specified in the General Certification. This approval is only valid for the purpose and
design that you described in your application. If you change your project, you must notify us in
writing, and you may be required to send us a new application for a new certification. If the property
is sold, the new owner must be given a copy of the Certification and approval letter; and is thereby
responsible for complying with all conditions.
In addition to the requirements of the certification, you must also comply with the following
conditions:
1. The Mooresville Regional Office shall be notified in writing once construction at the approved
impact areas has commenced.
Mooresville Regional Office One
Location: 610 East Center Avenue, Suite 301, Mooresville, NC 28115 NorthCarolina
Phone: [phone]\Fax: [phone]\ Customer Service: 1-877-623-6748
Internet: http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/wq ,/atura!!tf
An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer- 50% Recycled/10% Post Consumer Paper
2. Mitigation must be provided for the proposed impacts as specified in the table below. We
understand that you wish to make a payment to the Stream Restoration Fund administered by the
NC Ecosystem Enhancement Program (EEP) to meet this mitigation requirement. This has been
determined by the DWQ to be a suitable method to meet the mitigation requirement. Until the
EEP receives and clears your check (made payable to: DENR - Ecosystem Enhancement
Program Office), no impacts specified in this Authorization Certificate shall occur. The EEP
should be contacted at [phone] if you have any questions concerning payment into a
restoration fund. You have 60 days from the date of this approval to make this payment. For
accounting purposes, this Authorization Certificate authorizes payment into the fund to meet the
following compensatory mitigation requirement:
Compensatory Mitigation
Required River and Sub-basin
Number
Stream 250 (feet) Broad (03050105)
Wetlands (acres)
Waters (acres)
3. Must comply with the all conditions of the General Storm Water Permit for Mining (NCG020089)
issued for this operation.
4. Storm water discharge structures at this site shall be constructed in a manner such that the potential
receiving streams (of the discharge) will not be impacted due to sediment accumulations, scouring
or erosion of the stream banks.
5. No waste, spoil, solids, or fill of any kind shall occur in wetlands, waters, or riparian areas beyond
the footprint of the impacts depicted in the Preconstruction Notification application. All construction
activities associated with this project shall meet, and/or exceed, those requirements specified in the
most recent version of the North Carolina Sediment and Erosion Control Manual and shall be
conducted so that no violations of state water quality standards, statutes, or rules occur.
6. Sediment and erosion control measures shall not be placed in wetlands or waters to the maximum
extent practicable. If placement of sediment and erosion control devices in wetlands and waters is
unavoidable, they shall be removed and the natural grade restored within two months of the date the
Division of Land Resources has released the project.
7. Upon completion of the project, the applicant shall complete and return the enclosed "Certificate of
Completion" form to the 401/Wetlands Unit of the NC DWQ.
8. Continuing Compliance. The applicant (Kings Mountain Minerals, Inc.) shall conduct all activities in
a manner so as not to contravene any state water quality standard (including any requirements for
compliance with section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act) and any other appropriate requirements of
state and federal law. If DWQ determines that such standards or laws are not being met (including
the failure to sustain a designated or achieved use) or that state or federal law is being violated, or
that further conditions are necessary to assure compliance, DWQ may reevaluate and modify this
certification to include conditions appropriate to assure compliance with such standards and
requirements in accordance with 15 A NCAC 2H.0507(d). Before codifying the certification, DWQ
shall notify the applicant and the US Army Corps of Engineers, provide public notice in accordance
with 15A NCAC 2H.0503, and provide opportunity for public hearing in accordance with 15A NCAC
2H.0504. Any new or revised conditions shall be provided to the applicant in writing, shall be
provided to the United States Army Corps of Engineers for reference in any permit issued pursuant
to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, and shall also become conditions of the 404 Permit for the
project.
If you do not accept any of the conditions of this certification, you may ask for an adjudicatory
hearing. You must act within 60 days of the date that you receive this letter. To ask for a hearing,
send a written petition that conforms to Chapter 150B of the North Carolina General Statutes to the
Office of Administrative Hearings, 6714 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, N.C. 27699-6714. This
certification and its conditions are final and binding unless you ask for a hearing.
This letter completes the review of DWQ under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act. If you have
any questions, please telephone Mr. Alan Johnson in the Mooresville Regional Office at 704-663-1699
or Ian McMillan in the Central Office in Raleigh 919-733-9721.
Sincerely,
for Coleen eSullins
Attachments
cc: Army Corps of Engineers, Asheville
Ian McMillan, Wetlands Unit
MRO, Land Quality
Jennifer Robertson, Atlas Env., PO Box 882, Canton, NC 28716